NUWC employees named Bowen Award winners

NEWPORT – Naval Undersea Warfare Center Division Newport Engineer Raymond F. Travelyn and retired NUWC employee David L. Culbertson have been named winners of the Office of Naval Research Vice Adm. Harold G. Bowen Award for Patented Inventions for their Full Duplex Transceiver.

According to a NUWC release, the award recognizes patented inventions that have a “significant impact” upon the operation of the Navy. Inventions are rated on the extent of adoption for Navy use, cost savings, increased military capability or increased quality of life for U.S. Navy personnel.

Travelyn and Culbertson invented the Full Duplex Transciever, also known as the TravPak, a communications device that “dramatically increased data rates for error-free transmission via satellite aboard submarines.”

NUWC’s release said that previous systems required at least two days to transfer data for threat verification, which put both platform and crew at risk. The TravPak reduced time needed to transfer data by 1,000 times, said NUWC.

“Until it was replaced by the Common Submarine Radio Room the FDT was installed as a temporary alteration on about 20 platforms per year for about 10 years at a total cost of $600,000. Because the FDT used existing antenna hardware, the invention saved the Navy approximately $60 million by eliminating the need to design, develop, test, and install new UHF antennas,” said the release.

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